Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. Trims Stock Holdings in Intercontinental Exchange Inc. $ICE

Key Points

• Burgundy Asset Management trimmed its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 1.8%, selling 22,926 shares and leaving it with 1,243,864 shares valued at about $219.7 million (2.1% of the firm's portfolio).
• Significant insider selling occurred last quarter — insiders disposed of 359,063 shares (~$55.9M), including CEO Jeffrey Sprecher's sale of 150,000 shares for roughly $23.25M and CTO Mayur Kapani's sale of 15,213 shares.
• ICE reported a quarterly beat with $1.71 EPS vs $1.67 and revenue of $3.14B vs $2.51B, and analysts hold a consensus "Buy" rating with a target price of about $195.40.

Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange Inc. (NYSE:ICE - Free Report) by 1.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,243,864 shares of the financial services provider's stock after selling 22,926 shares during the period. Intercontinental Exchange accounts for 2.1% of Burgundy Asset Management Ltd.'s portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Burgundy Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.22% of Intercontinental Exchange worth $219,666,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Westside Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Intercontinental Exchange during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 59.5% during the 3rd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 177 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Knuff & Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of Intercontinental Exchange by 73.3% during the 2nd quarter. Knuff & Co LLC now owns 175 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Caitlin John LLC purchased a new stake in Intercontinental Exchange in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in Intercontinental Exchange by 128.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 272 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $46,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 89.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ICE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a report on Friday, February 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Intercontinental Exchange from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of Intercontinental Exchange in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $183.00 price target on shares of Intercontinental Exchange and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.40.

Intercontinental Exchange Stock Performance

Intercontinental Exchange stock opened at $166.24 on Thursday. Intercontinental Exchange Inc. has a 1-year low of $143.17 and a 1-year high of $189.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 1.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.72 and a beta of 1.03. The company's 50-day moving average is $164.66 and its 200 day moving average is $163.09.

Intercontinental Exchange (NYSE:ICE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The financial services provider reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.67 by $0.04. Intercontinental Exchange had a net margin of 26.23% and a return on equity of 13.99%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Intercontinental Exchange Inc. will post 6.73 EPS for the current year.

Intercontinental Exchange Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. This represents a $2.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 16th. Intercontinental Exchange's payout ratio is 33.28%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CTO Mayur Kapani sold 15,213 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.02, for a total value of $2,358,319.26. Following the sale, the chief technology officer owned 64,869 shares in the company, valued at $10,055,992.38. This represents a 19.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey C. Sprecher sold 150,000 shares of Intercontinental Exchange stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $23,250,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,651,705 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,014,275. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 359,063 shares of company stock valued at $55,879,604. 1.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Intercontinental Exchange Profile

Intercontinental Exchange NYSE: ICE is a global operator of exchanges, clearing houses and data services that provides infrastructure for the trading, clearing, settlement and information needs of financial and commodity markets. Founded in 2000 by Jeffrey C. Sprecher as an electronic energy trading platform, the company has grown through organic expansion and acquisitions to operate a broad portfolio of assets spanning listed equities, futures and options, fixed income, and over-the-counter derivatives.

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